Next Project

Fragmentation of Cinematic Immersion

Part 1 Project 2024
Callum Fawcett
Leeds Beckett University | UK
The Future of Cinema in Venice.

Venice, the birthplace of cinema, has long been a place for innovation in film. However, climate change and severe flooding threaten the city's heritage. "The Fragmentation of Cinematic Immersion" proposes repurposing Venice's water to redefine cinema as an accessible and educational cultural institution, emphasising experiential discoveries and new modes of representation.

Central to the project is the artistic representation of immersive cinematic spaces. Techniques such as experimental film, scale model filming, and water-based cyanotype printing transform traditional recording methods, converting still images into motion images. The project culminates in a short experimental essay film combining analogue and digital processes to narrate the poetic relationship between water and immersive environments.

Hundreds of cyanotype-printed film stills were digitised to create motion images, reflecting the experimental nature of early film inventions. This labour-intensive process underscores the importance of human-made techniques in an age dominated by artificial film production.

Cyanotype printing, traditionally used for archival documentation, was pivotal in this project. Over 200 single-frame shots were printed and layered within the essay film, integrating water-based exhibitions to alter perceptions of space.

By reimagining water as a positive force, the project proposes new connections to Venice’s environment, enhancing the immersive cinematic experience and showcasing architecture's adaptive potential. The new Scarpa inspired immersive arts centre grows from a base in ruins, linking both sides of the canal. This linear transition from existing ruins to a retrofitted structure, completing its transition into a new floating cinematic environment, creates a large-scale immersive exhibition centre anchored in Venice's unique landscape.

Callum Fawcett

Tutor(s)

2024
• Page Hits: 21         • Entry Date: 09 August 2024         • Last Update: 03 October 2024